Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People s Party of Canada, joins us from the road mid-campaign to talk about his party's fundraising efforts and why he's running for Prime Minister in the 2019 election.
00:02:30.240We have set up a, or I have set up, a third-party campaign group, and there seems to be a lot of interest in Canadians because it's such a tense political moment.
00:02:45.860And one of the measures is how many people show up at events, and one of the measures is how many people chip into your campaign fundraising.
00:02:54.380Can you give me a report or an estimate on either of those?
00:03:56.980And of course, these days, things can go viral for free.
00:04:01.840So if you have a very enthusiastic and engaged membership, that really can give you an extra punch for the dollar.
00:04:10.980That's how Donald Trump won in 2016, I think.
00:04:13.800He didn't spend more money, but he had a very active base.
00:04:16.840Now tell me, the last time we spoke, I asked you about the challenge of Pierre Paulyev being so far ahead.
00:04:22.540And you and others in the PPC had suggested that given Paulyev was so far ahead, it gave some comfort to people to vote for the PPC with the idea that you're not going to jeopardize throwing the election to the Liberals.
00:04:38.280And the PPC could hold the Conservatives to account from the right.
00:04:43.220Right. What's your proposition to voters now that things are extremely close between the Conservatives and the Liberals?
00:04:52.500And some of your PPC voters might say, I don't have the luxury of voting PPC because I need to ensure that Mark Carney doesn't slip through.
00:05:02.140Make your case to that kind of a voter, someone who's affectionate towards the PPC, but says, look, I've got to vote strategically for Paulyev.
00:05:56.640But the most important for us, I hope that if they like our policies and we can have more support and more vote, we will be more influential.
00:06:06.200And that will push the Conservatives and Paulyev is in government in the right direction.
00:06:13.660So, you know, on the most important issues for Albertans, for example, you know, equalization.
00:06:20.140I just did a press conference today here in Jean-Claire, and I said we need to reduce the equalization payments by half.
00:06:30.420$30 billion that, you know, we can save instead of giving $26 billion.
00:06:37.060That's something that is very important for Albertans.
00:06:40.420The fact that Paulyev is not so high in the pools right now, I believe it's because he's not a real conservative.
00:06:47.140And people are looking at him, you know, you're like the liberals, so I may vote liberals.
00:06:52.540You're listening at Paris Accord on the equalization, on the war with U.S., the trade war.
00:08:39.520We can't balance the budget in one year.
00:08:42.200And if you're serious about it, you know, just say the truth to Canadians.
00:08:46.460But right now, both the Liberals and the Conservatives will finance their tax cut with a bigger deficit.
00:08:54.600And when you have a deficit, we know that it is the taxes of today or the inflations of tomorrow.
00:09:01.760Now, you've run in several elections, and the party has not broken through in any one district.
00:09:06.720I mean, you get a certain number of votes, but it's spread out in our first-past-the-post system.
00:09:11.800I personally really regret that you were not allowed to participate in the leaders' debate in 2021 because you were the only party leader at the time that had a contrary view to the lockdowns and the no-fly list and the mandate for vaccines.
00:09:29.800And I think the country would have benefited tremendously from hearing the other point of view.
00:09:34.660I think there was collusion amongst all five parties to keep you out.
00:09:38.800Now, I see this year that the leaders' debates plans to have the tiny Green Party participating, plus the – I'll call them more major parties.
00:09:49.560And it looks like, and correct me if I'm wrong, you will be kept out again.
00:09:54.740Can you, first of all, confirm for me, are the current rules such that you will be not allowed to participate?
00:10:01.460And here's, to me, the more important question is, what are you going to do about it?
00:10:29.540We are not supposed to be blocked from participating to these debates because the decision – the leaders' debates commissions told us that the decision will be next week.
00:10:42.200But as you know, CBC and Radio Canada are the producers of these debates.
00:10:49.920And Radio Canada in French just said two days ago that I won't participate in the national debates.
00:10:56.500So what I'm telling you, Ezra, the process is a fake process just to be sure that it will exclude the People's Party.
00:11:03.980They had the two conditions, and, you know, at every election, they are coming with new conditions to be sure that we won't participate.
00:11:13.780Now they said we need to have 310 candidates.
00:11:34.600And so we – like you said, the Green Party of Canada had 2% of the vote at the last election because of their vote is concentrated in BC on the island of Vancouver.
00:11:47.160And our vote, it's all across the country.
00:11:49.740You know, we are a real national party.
00:11:51.780We are at 5%, but now the Green Party will be there.
00:11:55.980And actually, the mainstream media also is pushing and giving visibility to the Green Party and not to us.
00:12:04.180So that being said, they said that we need to have 4% in the polls 28 days before the debate.
00:12:11.020But if you look at the polls that are out there, the public polls, we are not there.
00:12:16.620They don't put our name, People's Party of Canada.
00:12:19.820So, for me, you know, that commission – I know that at the head of that commission, on the board of that commission, there are former Liberals MPs and former Conservative MPs.
00:12:33.820So that's not in their advantage to have us and to debate against the Liberals and the Conservatives.
00:12:40.060They don't want to hear what we have to say.
00:14:39.920My advice is worth exactly what I'm charging you for it, which is free.
00:14:44.180Let me ask you one last question while we – and I appreciate – I can see that you're on your way to an event, so I won't take up too much time.
00:14:51.880I think that a lot of freedom-oriented or conservative-oriented Canadians admire Donald Trump in a number of ways, that he fought the media, that he's for a stronger nationalism, that he's anti-woke.
00:15:07.920But that's become very difficult over the last three months as he's taken pot shots at Canada, not just verbally, but putting tariffs on Canada, which will actually cost jobs.
00:15:17.580And, you know, blood is thicker than water.
00:15:20.320We do have a sense of nationhood, and it's, you know, it's a bit of an indecent proposal for some people to – it's a very challenging time for people who love Donald Trump as a symbol of freedom but are now being subject to his tariffs.
00:15:35.180What would your advice be for the government?
00:15:38.900I mean, Pierre Polyev is trying, I don't think, to be as bitter towards Trump as the liberals, but he's critical of Trump.
00:15:46.820What would you say, if you had Donald Trump's attention, what would you say in response to his tariffs?
00:15:55.320I'll tell him, you know, what you're doing, Mr. President, it is hurting your consumers and your businesses.
00:16:02.380I know that you want to have a new deal with Canada, and I know that you don't want to wait until 2026 for that new deal.
00:16:09.540I can tell you that we will be ready for you, with you, to sit at the table and have a deal right now by putting everything on the table, including what you don't like, Mr. President, the supply management, the cartel in dairy, milk, and poultry.
00:16:28.180I'm the only leader, Mr. President, that will put that on the table.
00:16:32.800Polyev and Carnet won't, and if they don't do that, we won't be able to have a deal with President Trump.
00:16:40.640Let's put the automobile industry in Ontario on the table, the dairy cartel on the table, and also, Mr. President, you said that you want reciprocal tariffs.
00:17:23.860We must not participate in that trade war and put everything on the table to have a deal.
00:17:29.680That's the only, the only thing that we must do, but also to add, to have a better and more productive economy.
00:17:36.860You know, balancing our budget in one year, having a zero inflation target with the Bank of Canada, and after that, lowering the second year, lowering taxes for everybody, cutting the corporate tax, not the corporate tax, sorry, the capital gains tax, a flat tax on corporation, real tax cut.
00:17:56.860Because if you do that, when you have a surplus, that's cut that, you know, people will be able, that will be for a long term because you won't have inflation with that because it will come from surplus.
00:18:10.860So you need to do that and to work with provinces for having a real free trade.
00:18:15.440And it's so important, and I will end with that.
00:18:18.000It's so important to put supply management on the table because Carney and Polyev are saying, yeah, we did sign a lot of free trade agreements with other countries, and we must do that.
00:18:29.440What they don't tell you is we were not able to have a free trade agreement with UK last year because of supply management.
00:19:28.840It's a separate bank account, and we're doing it so we comply with election law.
00:19:33.200I didn't want to do it, but I was compelled to do it.
00:19:35.820The government basically said they would prosecute me if I didn't.
00:19:39.280I think it's a violation of my freedom of speech, but I'm trying to make the most of it, and I've got to say, I'm having a bit of fun with it.
00:19:55.140Let me close today by showing you some of our spicy ads.
00:19:59.600Now, I've got some feedback that these are too spicy.
00:20:03.300By the way, you're going to see these ads popping up not just on Rebel News, but at truenorthsjuno.com, or Juno News, and Counter Signal, and Western Standard, and there's a radio station.